Glyphosate's usefulness as an herbicide was discovered by Monsanto scientist John E. Franz in 1970.[2] It was first introduced in the herbicide Roundup by Monsanto in 1974. As of 2005, Monsanto's glyphosate products alone were registered in more than 130 countries for use in more than 100 crops. Much of Roundup's success is due to the perception that it is safe and nontoxic, as well as the fact that it is effective against so many species of plants. However, its safety is the subject of controversy and several studies have shown evidence to the contrary.

For more information, see the article on glyphosate. For one of the studies documenting the possible toxicity to mammals of Roundup in formulation -- as opposed to simply its active ingredient glyphosate -- the September 19, 2012 University of Caen study, "Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize" published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology,[3] see the article on NK603 or "Roundup Ready 2."